3. Brief Description of Competition
Astro Classic Golden Melody Singing Competition 2013 is a singing competition which is opened to eligible contestants aged 45 years and above no matter whether s/he is an amateur or professional singers.

4. Brief mechanism of Competition
This year, contestants have to go through 7 rounds of competition to enter the Grand Final.

(a) Auditions :
A total of 58 contestants will be selected from these audition days 20th and 21st April 2013 at Astro Studio 2. Three panel judges determined by the organizer will select 29 male and 29 female contestants for audition. The contestants will be selected based on their chosen songs, vocals, showmanship, and costume appropriate to their chosen songs. They will be required to sing one song with their own music in the judging room.

Among the 58 selected contestants, judges will chose 10 the best potential contestants to keep them as “secret weapons” and to appear during the Grouping Second Round. Those 10 will be selected by the judges, for best vocals, talent, entertainment value, potential, attractive background story, and those who have an X-factor such as a star face.

(b) Grouping First Round (Ep 1-4) :
48 contestants will be divided equally into 4 episodes based on the total scores given by 3 judges during auditions. Each episode will have 12 contestants (6 male and 6 female). They are encouraged to sing the song from years 1970-1999.

(c) Preliminary Group A & B (Ep 5-12) :
Group A and B will have 24 contestants who had been selected from the Grouping First Round. They will perform their self-chosen song. The 4 lowest scores will be eliminated from every episode. These 8 contestants from each Group A and B will be qualified to continue onward to the Grouping Second Round.

(d) Grouping Second Round (Ep 13) :
Those 10 contestants (secret weapons) who had been selected by judges during auditions will appear in this round. The 10 who were selected are not those who had the highest scores during audition but those with the most potential as determined by the panel judges. These 10 will be trained by coaches before their first appearance in this round to make them strongest and to heighten the attention of the audience. 8 contestants of Group A and Group B will take turns competing. The winning group then chooses one of their team members from the 10 who they think has most potential and chooses a member of the losing team that has the least potential. All contestants will be evaluated through individual scores given by the panel judges. No elimination will happen in this round. Individual scores will not be brought forward to the next round.

(e) Confrontation for Team A & B (Ep 14 and 15) :
This round, Group A and Group B have 13 contestants each. This round involves contestants imitating famous singers. One contestant from each group draws from a list of famous singers who determined by the organizer. They sing the same song and dress up according to the singer they are imitating.
Individual scores will be given by judges and then added up to score the group. The 2 contestants with the highest scores from the winning group will be qualified to be performed in the Mini Concert in Episode 19. The 2 lowest scores in the losing group will be eliminated immediately.

(f) Confrontation for Group A and B (Ep 16 and 17)
This round, Groups A and B have 11 contestants each. This round will be a competition among individuals singing songs from 2000. The winning group will be proceeding to the Mini Concert and the losing group will be entered in Episode 18’s Elimination Round.

(g) Elimination Round (Ep 18)
11 contestants from the losing group will compete individually. Contestants have to bring out an important person from their life to share their stories. The 6 contestants will the lowest scores will be eliminated.

(h) Mini Concert (Ep 19)
This episode will lead to recording at the exit. It will be a platform to encourage the 13 contestants (11 contestants from the winning group and 2 with the highest scores from episodes 14 and 15) to perform in front of the audience. It will be a where the singers perform for the public, face-to-face. This is not a competition round.

(i) Individual Round (Ep 20 to 23)
No grouping is involved. They have to fight among the best. In total, we have 18 contestants in this round. We will eliminate one contestant in each episode who has the lowest scores. Judges will give comments after each 3 contestants perform. The one with the lowest scores among the 3 contestants will be seated in the elimination area. Then the next 3 contestants perform, and one with the lowest score will be seated or replaced. There are a total of 6 rounds in the rundown, and 4 contestants will be eliminated from this round. Individual scores will not be brought forward until Semifinal 1 and 2. A total of 14 contestants will be entered in Semifinal 1.

(j) PSC Coach Training (Ep 24)
Two coaches will start intensive training and the organizer will provide professional make-overs to 14 semifinalists. We will shoot it with PSC. The audience will get to know the contestants better. No competition in this round.

(k) Semifinal 1 (Ep 25)
This round, viewers see the 14 semifinalists make-over. Three contestants with the lowest scores will be eliminated. Contestant with scores higher than 8 will be reserved in the “secure” area, but the contestants’ with score lower than 8 will be placed in the “not secure” area. The contestants from the “not secure” area will be invited to the stage at the end of the program. Judges will determine who should be eliminated.

(l) Semifinal 2 (Ep 26)
This round has only 11 contestants left. This is their last chance to become finalists. The first contestant will be chosen randomly by computer to perform on stage. After the singing and the scores are reviewed, s/he must choose one contestant s/he thinks will not able to compete with them. The contestant who receives the lowest score will be placed in the “not secure” area. The contestants from the “not secure” area will be invited to stage at the end of the program. Judges will determine who should be eliminated. One contestant will be eliminated, and only 10 finalists will be chosen.

(m) Homecoming (Ep 27)
This is not a competition round. It will be recorded by PSC shoot. We will explore the background stories of the finalists, and interview their family members or supporters. Also, we will cover their preparation for the finale.

(n) Pre-live (Episode 28)
This will be live-aired from the venue of the Grand Final. We will see the final touch-up of the stage, wardrobe, and make-up preparation. Interviewers will ask finalists about how they feel and we will see them rehearse on stage.

(o) Grand Final (Episode 29)
10 finalists will be selected from Semifinal 2, regardless of gender. The finalists will have to go through 3-4 rounds of competition to become the champion. Three subsidiary awards will be rewarded the Best Home Viewer Choice, chosen by home viewers via SMS, and Best Showmanship and Best Costume, chosen by panel judges. The Final will have 7 judges.

The Competition will end with 1 Grand Final where the winner from the respective Round Final will compete for the position of Champion, 1st Runner Up and 2nd Runner Up.

The Contestants must adhere to the mechanism of the Competition as may be briefed and communicated to the Contestants by the Organiser during the Competition Period.
5. Eligibility Criteria
The Competition is open to all Malaysians of the Age of Eligibility who can sing Mandarin or any Chinese dialect songs.

a) The Contestants must be free from any contractual obligation/arrangement or any other legal encumbrance, which may prevent him/her from participating in this contest and/or entering into a possible service contract with the Organizer after the Competition.

b) The Contestant understands and agrees that:-:

i) The Organiser has right to request the Contestant to change the Contestant’s songs for the Competition as the Organizer deems fit.

iii) the Organiser and/or its nominee(s), has the option to sign him/her up as its performing artiste and execute management agreement or recording agreement on such terms and conditions as determined by the Organiser for a contract term of two (2) years with an option to renew for a further one (1) year. In the event no such option is exercised by the Organiser and/or its nominee within one (1) year from the date of the Grand Finals of the Competition, the Contestant shall be free to enter to any such management agreement or recording agreement with any third parties.

The Basic Terms and the Standard Terms and Conditions (collectively “Terms and Conditions”) shall be binding on all contestants who participate in this Competition (“Contestants”). The definitions in the Standard Terms shall apply unless otherwise expressly agreed in the Basic Terms. In the event of any inconsistency between the Standard Terms and Conditions and the Basic Terms, the Basic Terms shall prevail to the extent of such inconsistency.

Entry and participation in the Competition shall be deemed an unconditional acceptance by the Contestants of the Terms and Conditions.